General James C. Clarke named one of his sons “Wendell Bollman Clarke”. Since I could find no family correlation to the name I began to research the name in hopes of finding a connection. James C. Clarke was one of the most notable railway men in the nation. James C. Clarke had an illustrious railroad career rising to the ranks of President of the Illinois Central Railroad and Mobile and Ohio Roads. His other accomplishments are too vast to list can can also be viewed on my blog. So the first logical place to begin searching for Wendel Bollman was in railroad history. My hunch proved correct.

I was delighted to find so much documentation on him. Here is what I found out about Wendell Clarke’s name sake. The original Wendel Bollman (1814-1884) was born January 21, 1814 in Baltimore, MD. Wendel’s father died when he was 11 years. It is ironic that both Wendel and James lost their fathers at an early age and forced to find work to support themselves and their families. Both would find themselves working for the B & O Railroad. Wendel was only 14 years of age when he started working as a carpenter laying wooden railroad tracks. Wendel worked various positions rising eventually to Master of the Road – he was a self-taught builder and engineer. The first Bollman Truss was built in the 1850′s over the Little Patuxent in Savage, Maryland. It was the first bridge built entirely of iron in America. The nearby elementary school “Bollman Bridge Elementary” was named for him. Bollman rebuilt the Harper’s Ferry Bridge in West Virginia in 1851. This would become one of his most famous bridges and rebuilt many time using his system throughout the civil war due to enemy fire. Unfortunately the bridge was washed away in a flood in the 1930′s.

In 1852 Bollman was awarded a patent for his iron suspension truss design called the Bollman Truss.” He transformed bridge building from an art to a science. Bollman is heralded as the first successful iron bridge builder in America.

Circa 1855 Wendel Bollman left the B & O Railroad and together with James Clarke and J. H. Tegmeyer would form the W. Bollman Company in Baltimore, MD located in Canton on Clinton Street & Second Avenue. The company was one of the first to design, fabricate and erect bridges. Baltimore County Circuit Court records (Libor GHC 25 Folio 55) reveals that J.H. Tegmeyer on August 30, 1859 leased the Canton Company of Baltimore with a 99 year lease renewable forever for manufacturing iron bridges or similar manufactured items for at least two years. It is a natural assumption that this is where they opened their business. The company faced trouble and ceased to exist circa 1862. On January 8, 1863 Tegmeyer and Clarke executed a deed (Libor GES 216 Libor 539) agreeing to sell the factory to Bollman. Baltimore was facing trouble with wartime conditions in the city which contributed the company’s demise.

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Circa 1865 Bollman would form a new company – Patapsco Bridge and Iron Works. The advertisment below touted the fact that they where the only establishment in Baltimore to manufacture its own bridges. In addition to building bridges Bollman is also credited as being one of the architects for City Hall in Baltimore. In 1873 he supplied the iron castings for the splendid dome on City Hall. he worked at the company until his death in 1884 at which time the company was dissolved.

Wendell Bollman Clarke born September 27, 1859 in Baltimore, MD. He was affectionately called Wennie. An 1886 Frederick newspaper article stated “Wendell has a rather delicate constitution”. The article further states, “He is a good, faithful business man and a general favorite especially with children. He mends their toys, teaches them to ride the bicycle, and entertains them with his inexhaustible fund of stories. Almost every evening he can be seen on the seated on the front steps of his father’s handsome residence with a crown of youngsters around him. There is not a child among them that does not love him to distraction. Such a son is always the joy of the household”.

Wendell Bollman Clarke died on March 21, 1920 and is buried with his family at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Frederick, MD.

Smith, William Prescott. The Book of the Great Railway Celebrations of 1857, Embracing a Full Account of the Opening of the Ohio & Mississippi, And the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroads, And the Northenwestern Virginia Branch of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. New York, New York: Appleton
& Co., 1858. N. pag. Google. Web. 16 Sept. 2009. <http://books.google.com/
books?id=KsdHAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA120&dq=William+Prescott+Scott+-+the+book+of+the+great+railway#v=onepage&q=
&f=false>.